Mar. 12th, 2014

djafifa: (Default)
After translating maybe 600 strings i realized that the idea of a translation dictionary may actually be a good and necessary one.
A translation dictionary would help to make standard common terms used in strings. it would also help the translator with the task. the more strings there are to translate the more helpful i think a translation dictionary could be. As i translated i highlighted a few words that i thought would demonstrate the validity of a dictionary. In this case the translation is for English to Jamaican English:

select/choose- pick
detecting-looking for
configure-setup
auto configuration-auto setup
guided partioning-partioning wid help
query-check fa
network administrator-person who run di network
please wait- hol on likkle bit
scanning disk- looking pon di disk dem
modify- change
write- put on
manually- yuh self
destroy-mashup
processing-working out
unused- neva use
extracting packages- tekking out packages
enable- activate
suppliment- work wid
local time- time which part yuh deh
default-regular
origin- source
protocol- how
edit-mek changes
format- setup
reboot-start up di system again
invalid- wrong

These are just some of the words. one of the difficulties that was encountered during the translation was recognizing the importance of understanding certain technical terms in order to translate and create the dictionary.
djafifa: (Default)
My translation task mostly involved converting a series of "strings" from English to Jamaican English or Patois. Strings are instructions or responses that the computer will give based on operations or functions performed by the user. The translation file list the strings in some kind of order as you translate it becomes apparent, but it is not immediately apparent what the order is or it is difficult to see how the strings connect to the big picture. This is where understanding context becomes important and my question for doing translation work begins.
In approaching translation the way we did. There is one important assumption that are been made. That is; translation is done by taking one word and converting it to another word. This assumption can be problematic when you consider the following:

Would i use different words if i were given a picture of the broader context? For example how the instructions/strings were created? what the assumptions were of the interactions between the machine, the system and the user?

Could translation be improved if there was interaction between the developers and the translator.

It seems to me that at the point where the translation starts there is also an assumption that the "technical" originates from the language being translated. that there is no technical in "translation" language.

Removing the context from translation overlooks the power of words and that words only have meaning in certain context.

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